"Hostess" Chocolate Cupcakes
Who didn’t eat Hostess Cupcakes (or HoHo’s or Ding Dong’s) as a kid? I found this recipe online and knew right away I had to try it. No scary ingredients in these cupcakes and they were fun to put together. The cupcake is a nice, moist, deep chocolately, really yummy cake. It would be the perfect cupcake even without the marshmallow filling. Enjoy.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
1-cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup boiling water
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream
Filling
3 TBSP water
1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
4 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
1 pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
7 oz. marshmallow fluff
Chocolate Ganache Glaze
½ TBSP butter
½ TBSP corn syrup (optional, I didn’t use)
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
Directions
Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 12 muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl, set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together water, cocoa and chocolate chips together until smooth. Add sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla and mix until combined. Whisk in flour mixture alternating with sour cream until blended.
Divide batter evenly among greased muffin cups. Bake 18-22 minutes (18 was perfect for me) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cook cupcakes in tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.
Filling
While cupcakes are cooling combine water and gelatin in large bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes – then microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Stir in butter, vanilla, and salt until combined. Let mixture cool until just warm enough to touch, about 5 minutes. When slightly cooled, whisk in marshmallow cream until smooth.
Refrigerate fill until set, about 30 minutes. Transfer 1/3 cup filling to a pastry bag, fitted with a small, plain tip (or to a plastic bag and snip the corner) and reserve the remaining filling for the cupcakes.
Chocolate Glaze
Add heavy cream and butter to a large microwave safe bowl and heat for two minutes. Stir to combine. Heat at 30 second intervals if butter is not melted at this point. Add chopped chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Add corn syrup, if using, and stir to combine. Let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
Assemble
Insert a knife about ¼ inch from the edge of each cupcake and cut out a cone shape. Cut of the tapered part of cake topper so you have a flat top leftover to put back onto the filled cupcake. Using a spoon, fill each cupcake with the marshmallow filling and then put the “tops” back on each cake. Lightly frost with the chocolate Ganache glaze. Let the glaze set then decorate tops with the filling you reserved in the piping bag.
Recipe from Carlsbadcravings.com